[4] The aircraft crashed and sank in Government Cut channel, a waterway that connects the Port of Miami with the Atlantic Ocean.

[3] On December 22, 2005 the NTSB issued a press release that included pictures showing metal fatigue on the wing that broke off.

[6] The discovery of the metal fatigue in the wing led to Chalk's Ocean Airways voluntary grounding of the rest of its fleet for further inspection.

[7][8] On May 30, 2007, Reuters reported that "The National Transportation Safety Board asserted Chalk Ocean Airways failed to identify and properly repair fatigue cracks on the 1947 Grumman Turbo Mallard.

The plane lost its right wing a few minutes after take-off for the Bahamas at 500 feet (152 m) and plunged into the shipping channel adjacent to the Port of Miami on December 19, 2005."

The safety board also said the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) failed to detect and correct the airline's maintenance shortfalls.

"The regulations are crystal clear that the carrier has primary responsibility for the airworthiness of (its) fleet and that includes making appropriate structural repairs," the agency said in a statement.

[9] The NTSB determined that the probable cause of the accident was a fatigue failure in the right-wing initiated by a crack in a span-wise stringer close to the wing root.

In addition, the normal flexing of the wing in flight tends to open seams over extended periods, leading to fuel leaks.

[failed verification] Grumman, the manufacturer, had issued warnings as early as 1963 about fuel leaks from the Mallard's wing being indicative of possible structural problems.

In applying the sealant, the operator was required to access the inside of the fuel tank using small removable inspection hatches on the top surface of the wing.

The sealant concealed the previous repair to the stringer and made subsequent checking for further damage to this component (i.e., any crack growth) impossible.

The first outward sign of possible significant problems with the accident aircraft was when a chord-wise (running from the front of the wing towards the rear) crack was noticed in the skin of the lower surface of the right-wing at the root.

By sheer chance, a tourist from New York was able to capture video of Flight 101's final moments on his cell phone as the plane went plunging towards the ocean.

[12] Chalks Plane N2969 was used in the pilot episode Brother's Keeper of the television series Miami Vice, in which a drug dealer used the seaplane to evade Ricardo "Rico" Tubbs & James "Sonny" Crockett.